Abstract

Modern linguistic theory posits the existence of universal
constraints. But whether these constraints concern language structure, generally,
or speech, specifically, is unknown. To address this question, here we ask
whether the constraints identified in spoken languages transfer to sign
languages. ANCHORING (McCarthy & Prince, 1993) is a putatively universal
constraint on reduplication. ANCHORING requires that the final element of a
suffixed reduplicant match the final element of the base (e.g., pana
‘chase’––>panana, ‘run’ not panapa). Here,
we examine whether ANCHORING is likewise operative in a signed language. In our
experiments, native ASL signers rated novel reduplicated forms: either ones
consistent or inconsistent with ANCHORING (i.e., ABB vs. ABA, where A and B are
syllables). Results showed that signers reliably favored ABB forms over ABA.
These findings show for the first time that ANCHORING constrains a sign language.
This conclusion is consistent with the existence of amodal linguistic
principles.